U.S. patent number 10,645,215 [Application Number 16/102,999] was granted by the patent office on 2020-05-05 for electronic card delivery and communication channel integration.
This patent grant is currently assigned to West Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is West Corporation. Invention is credited to James K. Boutcher, Kellan Stec.
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United States Patent |
10,645,215 |
Stec , et al. |
May 5, 2020 |
Electronic card delivery and communication channel integration
Abstract
Personal information, such as professional information normally
associated with a business card may be identified and appended to a
messaging sequence to provide automated user profile updates. One
example embodiment may transmitting an initiation message from a
service provider to a user device to initiate a communication
session, transmitting a request message to the user device to
accept contact information associated with the service provider,
receiving a confirmation message responsive to the request message,
transmitting the contact information responsive to receiving
confirmation of the request, and automatically initiating a contact
information update on the user device.
Inventors: |
Stec; Kellan (Omaha, NE),
Boutcher; James K. (Omaha, NE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
West Corporation |
Omaha |
NE |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
West Corporation (Omaha,
NE)
|
Family
ID: |
58670493 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/102,999 |
Filed: |
August 14, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
15596599 |
May 16, 2017 |
10051118 |
|
|
|
14797403 |
May 16, 2017 |
9654627 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
4/14 (20130101); H04L 67/146 (20130101); H04M
3/42042 (20130101); H04M 1/2757 (20200101); H04M
3/42382 (20130101); H04M 3/42059 (20130101); H04M
3/4931 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M
3/42 (20060101); H04M 1/2745 (20200101); H04M
3/493 (20060101); H04W 4/14 (20090101); H04L
29/08 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;379/207.15 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Quynh H
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation from U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 15/596,599, filed May 16, 2017, entitled ELECTRONIC CARD
DELIVERY AND COMMUNICATION CHANNEL INTEGRATION, which is a
continuation from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/797,403,
filed Jul. 13, 2015, entitled ELECTRONIC CARD DELIVERY AND
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL INTEGRATION, now issued U.S. Pat. No.
9,654,627, the entire contents of which is incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method, comprising: transmitting an initiation message from a
service provider device to a user device to initiate a
communication session between the service provider device and the
user device, wherein the service provider device is an unknown
device to the user device; transmitting a request message from the
service provider device to the user device to accept contact
information associated with the service provider; and transmitting
the contact information of the service provider from the service
provider device to the user device, wherein the transmitting the
contact information comprises: creating a uniform resource locator
(URL); inserting electronic card information of the service
provider in memory at a location specified by the URL; and
transmitting the URL to the user device in a SMS message.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a device
type associated with the user device; and creating an electronic
card representing the service provider based on the identified
device type.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the contact information comprises
an electronic card with a plurality of information tags associated
with the service provider.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of information tags
comprise at least two of a service provider telephone number, a
service provider name, a service provider image logo, and a service
provider social networking identifier.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a
confirmation message from the user device responsive to the request
message; waiting a predetermined amount of time prior to
transmitting the request message to the user device; and
automatically applying a user preference to an electronic card
creation procedure responsive to receiving the confirmation
message.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user preference indicates
which of a plurality of information tags associated with the
service provider to include in the electronic card.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the contact
information of the service provider from the service provider
device to the user device automatically initiates a contact
information update directly from the service provider device to the
user device.
8. An apparatus, comprising: a transmitter configured to: transmit
an initiation message from a service provider device to a user
device to initiate a communication session between the service
provider device and the user device, wherein the service provider
device is an unknown device to the user device, and transmit a
request message to the user device to accept contact information
associated with the service provider, wherein the transmitter is
further configured to: transmit the contact information of the
service provider from the service provider device to the user
device; and a processor configured to: create a uniform resource
locator (URL), insert electronic card information of the service
provider in memory at a location specified by the URL, and cause
the transmitter to push the URL to the user device in a SMS
message.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to
identify a device type associated with the user device and create
an electronic card of the service provider based on the identified
device type.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the contact information
comprises an electronic card with a plurality of information tags
associated with the service provider.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of information
tags comprise at least two of a service provider telephone number,
a service provider name, a service provider image logo, and a
service provider social networking identifier.
12. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a receiver
configured to receive a confirmation message from the user device
responsive to the request message, wherein the processor is
configured to cause the transmitter to wait a predetermined amount
of time prior to transmitting the request message to the user
device and automatically apply a user preference to an electronic
card creation procedure responsive to receiving the confirmation
message.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user preference
indicates which of a plurality of information tags associated with
the service provider to include in the electronic card.
14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the contact information of
the service provider transmitted from the service provider device
to the user device automatically initiates a contact information
update directly from the service provider device to the user
device.
15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to
store one or more instructions that when executed by a processor
cause the processor to perform: transmitting an initiation message
from a service provider device to a user device to initiate a
communication session between the service provider device and the
user device, wherein the service provider device is an unknown
device to the user device; transmitting a request message from the
service provider device to the user device to accept contact
information associated with the service provider; and transmitting
the contact information of the service provider from the service
provider device to the user device, wherein the transmitting the
contact information comprises: creating a uniform resource locator
(URL); inserting electronic card information of the service
provider in memory at a location specified by the URL; and
transmitting the URL to the user device in a SMS message.
16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, further configured to store one or more instructions that when
executed by the processor cause the processor to perform:
identifying a device type associated with the user device; and
creating an electronic card of the service provider based on the
identified device type.
17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, wherein the contact information comprises an electronic card
with a plurality of information tags associated with the service
provider.
18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
17, wherein the plurality of information tags comprise at least two
of a service provider telephone number, a service provider name, a
service provider image logo, and a service provider social
networking identifier.
19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
15, further configured to store one or more instructions that when
executed by the processor cause the processor to perform: receiving
a confirmation message responsive to the request message; waiting a
predetermined amount of time prior to transmitting the request
message to the user device; and automatically applying a user
preference to an electronic card creation procedure responsive to
receiving the confirmation message.
20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim
19, wherein the user preference indicates which of a plurality of
information tags associated with the service provider to include in
the electronic card.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE APPLICATION
This application relates to a communication session initiating a
caller identification procedure, and more particularly, an
automated identification procedure that initiates during a voice
call or message session.
BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION
Conventionally, when a user operating a calling device (e.g.,
landline phone, smartphone, mobile phone, Internet phone, etc.)
receives a call, the user may or may not recognize the number. For
example, many numbers are associated with third parties which the
user does not normally receive calls, such as business affiliations
(e.g., banks, airlines, retailers, etc.). As a result, those
numbers are often confused with spam, automated calls,
telemarketers, etc., and the user may decide not to answer the call
even though it may be important to the user.
Also, in a similar context, a user may receive various text
messages from third parties which relate to services or products
which the user may be interested in pursuing but which are not sent
from known parties. Also, many retailers and service providers use
short codes to communicate with a user's mobile device. In this
case, the short code is not a readily recognizable number and will
generally not assist the user with a speedy identification of the
sender of such short message service (SMS) messages.
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION
One example embodiment of the present application may provide a
method that includes at least one of transmitting a call from a
calling party to a user device and establishing a call channel,
transmitting a request to the user device to accept contact
information associated with the calling party via a data channel
separate from the call channel, receiving confirmation via a
confirmation message that the request is accepted, and transmitting
the contact information responsive to receiving the confirmation
message.
Another example embodiment may include an apparatus that includes
at least one of a transmitter configured to transmit a call from a
calling party to a user device and establish a call channel,
transmit a request to the user device to accept contact information
associated with the calling party via a data channel separate from
the call channel, and a receiver configured to receive confirmation
via a confirmation message that the request is accepted, and the
transmitter is further configured to transmit the contact
information responsive to receiving the confirmation message.
Another example embodiment may include a non-transitory computer
readable storage medium configured to perform at least one of store
instructions that when executed causes a processor to perform
transmitting a call from a calling party to a user device and
establishing a call channel, transmitting a request to the user
device to accept contact information associated with the calling
party via a data channel separate from the call channel, receiving
confirmation via a confirmation message that the request is
accepted, and transmitting the contact information responsive to
receiving the confirmation message.
Still another example embodiment includes a method configured to
perform at least one of transmitting an initiation message from a
service provider to a user device to initiate a communication
session, transmitting a request message to the user device to
accept contact information associated with the service provider,
receiving a confirmation message responsive to the request message,
transmitting the contact information responsive to receiving
confirmation of the request, and automatically initiating a contact
information update on the user device.
Still yet another example embodiment includes an apparatus with at
least one of a transmitter configured to transmit an initiation
message from a service provider to a user device to initiate a
communication session, and transmit a request message to the user
device to accept contact information associated with the service
provider, and a receiver configured to receive a confirmation
message responsive to the request message, and the transmitter is
further configured to transmit the contact information responsive
to receiving confirmation of the request, and automatically
initiate a contact information update on the user device.
Still yet another example embodiment includes a non-transitory
computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions
that when executed causes a processor to perform at least one of
transmitting an initiation message from a service provider to a
user device to initiate a communication session, transmitting a
request message to the user device to accept contact information
associated with the service provider, receiving a confirmation
message responsive to the request message, transmitting the contact
information responsive to receiving confirmation of the request,
and automatically initiating a contact information update on the
user device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network diagram
according to example embodiments of the present application.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example logic flow diagram according to
example embodiments.
FIG. 3A illustrates an example user interface for managing the
electronic card information according to example embodiments of the
present application.
FIG. 3B illustrates an example user interface for incorporating the
electronic card information into the user interface according to
example embodiments of the present application.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example logic diagram of the input and output
data according to example embodiments of the present
application.
FIG. 5A illustrates an example system communication diagram of a
voice call electronic card integration according to example
embodiments of the present application.
FIG. 5B illustrates an example system communication diagram of a
messaging session electronic card integration according to example
embodiments of the present application.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example electronic card processing system
configuration according to example embodiments.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example network entity device configured to
store instructions, software, and corresponding hardware for
executing the same, according to example embodiments of the present
application.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION
It will be readily understood that the components of the present
application, as generally described and illustrated in the figures
herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different
configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the
embodiments of a method, apparatus, and system, as represented in
the attached figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the
application as claimed, but is merely representative of selected
embodiments of the application.
The features, structures, or characteristics of the application
described throughout this specification may be combined in any
suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage
of the phrases "example embodiments", "some embodiments", or other
similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact
that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described
in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one
embodiment of the present application. Thus, appearances of the
phrases "example embodiments", "in some embodiments", "in other
embodiments", or other similar language, throughout this
specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of
embodiments, and the described features, structures, or
characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or
more embodiments.
In addition, while the term "message" has been used in the
description of embodiments of the present application, the
application may be applied to many types of network data, such as,
packet, frame, datagram, etc. For purposes of this application, the
term "message" also includes packet, frame, datagram, and any
equivalents thereof. Furthermore, while certain types of messages
and signaling are depicted in exemplary embodiments of the
application, the application is not limited to a certain type of
message, and the application is not limited to a certain type of
signaling.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 according
to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1, a user 102 of a mobile
device or smartphone 104 may communicate with a communication base
station controller and/or mobile switching controller 132 to
receive a mobile communication signal as a voice signal and/or a
data signal. A data network 130 may provide a communication network
to receive and forward communication with one or more communication
servers used to initiate communication with the mobile device
104.
According to one example, the user device 104 may receive a call
from a third party call server 112, such as an automated call
dialer on behalf of a live agent and/or an automated voice call
from a service provider seeking to inform the user 102 of a change
in service or other type of reminder (i.e. pay bill, new service,
etc.). The user generally has no knowledge of the caller's number
as the number is usually restricted, not available or is a toll
free number that is not known or linked to an identification name
or other form of identification. For example, a user's contact list
may include a number of different contact tags for each user
contact including a user name, photograph, email address, social
network link (e.g., FACEBOOK), aliases, etc. However, the
unexpected caller or first time caller may have no recognition by
the contact library of the user's mobile device.
The caller could easily be identified via an electronic card that
is presented to the user or selected by the user's mobile device.
An example of an electronic card composition is provided below:
BEGIN:ELECTRONIC CARD VERSION:4.0 N:Wayne;John;;; FN:John Wayne
ORG:Old West Co. TITLE:Cowboy
PHOTO;MEDIATYPE=image/gif:http://www.example.com/dir_photos/my_photo.gif
TEL;TYPE=work,voice;VALUE=uri:tel:+1-111-555-1212
TEL;TYPE=home,voice;VALUE=uri:tel:+1-404-555-1212
ADR;TYPE=work;LABEL="123 Main street\nOld West, CA 90210\nUnited
States of America" :;;123 Main Street;Old West;CA;90210;United
States of America ADR;TYPE=home;LABEL="123 Main Street\nOld West,
CA 90210\nUnited States of America" :;; 123 Main Street;Old
West;CA;90210;United States of America EMAIL:johnwayne@example.com
REV: 20080424T195243Z
END:ELECTRONIC CARD.
A electronic card may provide any number of information segments
used to provide convenience and identification of the caller. The
electronic card may be part of the vCARD series of information
types. Delivering electronic cards contemporaneously with a live
call and/or short message service (SMS) communication may offer an
increased level of optimization to a recipient of such information.
An electronic card may be created for a branded product or
application. This may include information segments, such as images,
addresses, alternate phone contacts, email contacts, etc. among
other information types. The electronic card could be hosted on a
web "electronic card" server 114 in a static form and/or served up
dynamically from a database-backed application.
Retrieving, forwarding and providing an electronic card in certain
situations may create an optimized communication experience. In one
example embodiment, a user may receive a call from a service
provider call server 112 which includes voice data 124. After a
predetermined period of time (e.g., 15 seconds, 30 seconds, etc.),
an electronic card organization procedure may ensue that includes
any of retrieving an electronic card from memory, customizing the
electronic card for delivery via the electronic card server 114 and
providing a message 126 with an electronic card embedded inside
that is customized for the user's mobile device. Customization may
include all information included in the electronic card that the
user may desire based on device attributes of the mobile device 104
and/or user preferences. Alternatively, the communication session
may be a short message service session via a SMS server 116 which
generates and transmits SMS messages 122 to and from the user
device. The electronic card would be delivered in a SMS
message.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example logic flow diagram of an electronic
card communication procedure conducting during a live call or
messaging session. Referring to FIG. 2, the procedure begins with
retrieving a customer profile 210, such as a user name, number,
email address, preferences, history, etc. The customer number 212
may be used to initiate a communication session with the mobile
device. The next determination that can be performed is to
determine whether the user device is a mobile device 214 or other
type of communication device (i.e., landline). If the device is a
mobile device, a notification may be prepared as a message 216 and
electronic card may be retrieved and/or customized 218 to a user's
needs and requests. A user prompt may be generated 220 to inform
the user to access, download, etc., the electronic card contents.
The message 222 may be sent to the user's device as a SMS message
with a link or other data access format to retrieve the electronic
card contents. The user may respond with certain preferences or
requests via a SMS message response and if so then the user may be
provided with a customized electronic card 228 or alternatively a
generic electronic card 226 with basic name and/or email
information.
FIG. 3A illustrates a user interface on a user device according to
example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 3A, the user device and data
interface 300 includes a user device 302 with a display interface
including a current number 304 and message interface 306. The
electronic card data 310 may include a plurality of different data
tags including a logo 316, a telephone number 314, company hours
312, an email address 318, social networking identifiers 320, etc.
In operation, the dialogue of an active user call may include a
voice channel being established between the user device and the
calling entity. The number of the caller may appear 304 along with
dialogue of the voice from the call and/or separate SMS messages
306 received and exchanged during the call. The service provider
may ask questions regarding address book information to confirm
that the user is trying to receive such information prior to
sending the information to the user device.
FIG. 3B illustrates an example of the user device receiving and
incorporating such information from the electronic card. For
example, the user device may have accessed the electronic card via
the link or another data access option and incorporated the
electronic card tags including the company logo 332, the various
contact information 330, etc. The information may be populated on a
contact page once the electronic card is accessed. Alternatively,
the information may be automatically populated after a
predetermined period of time has elapsed or after a set of user
preferences are identified which correlate to the information in
the electronic card.
FIG. 4 illustrates a logic configuration of data processing for a
communication session. Referring to FIG. 4, the input and output
data of the logic configuration 400 provides a basis for setting up
and executing a communication session with information logging
(i.e., contact list updates). In an initial processing operation,
the call or message 410 may be transmitted to an end user device.
As a result, the control logic 420 may begin to create an
electronic card request 422 and identifying the end user device
attributes 428 and its corresponding user preferences 426 from a
set of user data 429. The control logic 420 may then customize an
electronic card via images 412 associated with the caller, names
414, emails 416, social networking identifiers 418 and/or other
data linked to the company 419. The electronic card can have a
generic template of all the data tags or may add the tags to the
generic template to create a customized electronic card for the
recipient.
FIG. 5A illustrates an example communication session 500 of a user
device 520 and a call server 530 according to example embodiments.
Referring to FIG. 5A, during interaction with an interactive voice
response (IVR) application on a live call either outbound or
inbound, the call server 530 would determine whether or not a user
device a mobile phone or not to determine if we a text message can
even be sent to the device. There are databases that provide
assistance with this decision procedure or other third party
information sources. A call may be initiated 522 from the call
server 530 to the user device 520 and a call receipt 524 may be
transmitted to notify the server that the call was successful. On
inbound calls, indicators from the network may offer information as
to the device type, such as a hardware address, mobile switching
center identifiers, home location resource (HLR) database
information, etc. Also, a user prompt notification may be generated
and sent to the mobile device to confirm the device type 526 in the
event of a failed attempt. If the user responds, a SMS text message
could be sent, such as "Add us to your address book by visiting
http://url.com/myco.vcf". The URL may be a static URL, or a
shortened URL. When the user visits the link with the electronic
card, the electronic card is delivered to their device using a
standard HTTP/HTTPS protocol. The device will then initiate a
prompt to the user through to add that contact record to their
address book on their phone or may do so automatically.
The electronic card request 528 may be sent and a confirmation 532
may be received prior to transmitting any electronic card to the
user device 520. The call server 530 may then request the
electronic card 534 from an electronic card server or database 550
which may then retrieve known electronic card data and customize
the electronic card for the mobile device 536 based on user
preferences, device attributes or a combination of both attributes.
The electronic card could then be created 538 and transmitted to
the user device 520 based on the capabilities of the device and/or
user preferences to have all or some of the information included in
the contact list and corresponding data-tag repository. The link
for the electronic card may be forwarded 542 to the call server
which creates the notification message 544 with the electronic card
information included. The notification can then be forwarded 546 to
the user device 520 which can then access the notification 548 and
incorporate the electronic card data automatically 552.
A more specific example method of operation may include
transmitting a call from a calling party to a user device and
establishing a call channel and transmitting a request to the user
device to accept contact information associated with the calling
party via a data channel separate from the call channel. The data
channel may be an alternative communication medium, such as a data
cellular channel as opposed to a voice cellular channel. Then, once
a confirmation message is received that the request is accepted,
the contact information can be identified, formatted and forwarded
automatically.
The example method may also include identifying a device type
associated with the user device, and creating an electronic card
based on the identified device type. The contact list information
may include an electronic card with a plurality of information tags
associated with the calling party, such as a calling party
telephone number, a calling party name, a calling party image logo,
a calling party social networking identifier. The process may also
include waiting a predetermined amount of time prior to
transmitting the electronic card request to the user device, and
automatically applying a user preference to the electronic card
creation procedure. The user preference indicates which of a
plurality of information tags associated with the calling party to
include in the electronic card. If no preference is identified, a
default set of tags or attributes will be applied to the electronic
card creation and sharing procedure. One approach to sharing the
e-card information may include creating a uniform resource locator
(URL) to a location of user information or a formatted card format
and inserting the electronic card information in memory at a
location specified by the URL, and transmitting the URL to the user
device in a SMS message.
In an alternative embodiment, the e-card information may be
automatically identified and retrieved from a social networking
profile account that is accessible via an API of the social network
service. For example, responsive to a call or message received, if
the call or message is a first time caller or contact, the
application may seek to create an e-card by identifying the user's
social networking profile and retrieving one or more of a user
image, user interests, user skills, user location, user groups,
user affiliations, etc. and incorporate them into the e-card
creation service. The e-card may be previewed by the user prior to
being forwarded to the recipient. Also, the e-card creation service
may seek to only share professional information so as not to share
personal information about the user with the first time caller or
recipient.
FIG. 5B illustrates an example communication session 570 of a user
device 520 and a message server 560 according to example
embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5B, when interacting with a SMS text
messaging application either by receiving an outbound notification,
or interacting with a two-way SMS application that may be user
initiated, SMS `shortcodes` may be utilized, such as 4 or 5 digit
numbers, or standard 10-digit phone numbers. These numbers are not
descriptive, and are normally not recognizable by users. As a
result, delivering a contact card/entry to a user's mobile phone
using text messaging is possible.
In FIG. 5B, the message server 560 may initiate a message 562 to
the user device 520. The response 564 may be sent to confirm
receipt and/or to make a selection (i.e., pay bill, order service,
etc.). The message server 560 may then elect a electronic card
option 566 and request a confirmation from the user device 568
prior to transferring an electronic card. Upon receiving an
electronic card confirmation 572, the message server 560 may
request an electronic card 574 from the electronic card server 550.
Once a user accepts the electronic card, the message server 560 may
request the electronic card 574 form the electronic card server.
The electronic card may be customized 576 and a link may be created
578 to access the electronic card location. The link can be
forwarded 580 and the notification 582 may be created and sent 548
to the user device 520. Once the access notification 586 is
received and the information is retrieved 588, a new contact entry
would be added to the user's phone calendar so subsequent messaging
to/from that application would be appropriately branded with text
and possibly pictures and there would be no confusion who is on the
other side of the shortcode/longcode. As an electronic card is
created for the brand/application it may include images, addresses,
alternate phone contacts, email contact points, etc., or any useful
information.
In one specific example method of operation, an initiation message
may be transmitted from a service provider to a user device to
initiate a communication session, and a request message may be
transmitted to the user device to accept contact information
associated with the service provider. The contact information may
be transmitted responsive to receiving confirmation of the request,
and then a contact information update on the user device may be
performed automatically. Next, a device type associated with the
user device may be determined, and then an electronic card can be
created based on the identified device type. A predetermined amount
of time may be waited prior to transmitting the request message to
the user device, and a user preference can be automatically applied
to an electronic card creation procedure responsive to receiving
the confirmation message. For example, the user may have a
preference to only share interests or professional information. The
user's preference can be used to only retrieve work related
experiences from work related social networking profiles (e.g.,
LINKEDIN v. FACEBOOK), which ensures the information will be
professional and not personal. The user preference indicates which
of a plurality of information tags associated with the service
provider to include in the electronic card. A uniform resource
locator (URL) can then be created and inserted in the URL, and the
URL can be transmitted to the user device in a SMS message.
During interaction with the SMS application, a message notification
may include a message "Add us to your address book by visiting
http://url.com/myco.vcf", which would be given to the user. The URL
may be a static URL or a shortened URL. It is important to note
this URL example in the disclosure is for example purposes only and
is in no way related to the content of this disclosure. When the
user accesses link on their smartphone, the electronic card is
delivered to their user device using a standard HTTP/HTTPS
protocol. The phone will then take a user through a step or two to
add that contact record to their address book on their phone. Also,
a record of who we offered to download the electronic card may be
kept so the messages are only sent and re-sent a set number of
times so not to over-message a single account.
FIG. 6 is an electronic card message processing system 600 which
may be a single device, multiple devices or a set of software
and/or hardware modules configured to communicate with one another
for the purpose of processing incoming messages, generating new
messages and communicating with the user device to establish a
contact list of information. The message reception module 610 may
receive a confirmation or acceptance from the user device and
retrieve user preferences from the messaging information memory 640
so a new message may be created via the processing module 620 and
forwarded via the forwarding module 630 to the user device.
The operations of a method or algorithm described in connection
with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in
hardware, in a computer program executed by a processor, or in a
combination of the two. A computer program may be embodied on a
computer readable medium, such as a storage medium. For example, a
computer program may reside in random access memory ("RAM"), flash
memory, read-only memory ("ROM"), erasable programmable read-only
memory ("EPROM"), electrically erasable programmable read-only
memory ("EEPROM"), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a
compact disk read-only memory ("CD-ROM"), or any other form of
storage medium known in the art.
An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor such
that the processor may read information from, and write information
to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may
be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium
may reside in an application specific integrated circuit ("ASIC").
In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside
as discrete components. For example FIG. 7 illustrates an example
network element 700, which may represent any of the above-described
network components of the other figures.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, a memory 710 and a processor 720 may be
discrete components of the network entity 700 that are used to
execute an application or set of operations. The application may be
coded in software in a computer language understood by the
processor 720, and stored in a computer readable medium, such as,
the memory 710. The computer readable medium may be a
non-transitory computer readable medium that includes tangible
hardware components in addition to software stored in memory.
Furthermore, a software module 730 may be another discrete entity
that is part of the network entity 700, and which contains software
instructions that may be executed by the processor 720. In addition
to the above noted components of the network entity 700, the
network entity 700 may also have a transmitter and receiver pair
configured to receive and transmit communication signals (not
shown).
Although an exemplary embodiment of the system, method, and
computer readable medium of the present invention has been
illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the
foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the
invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is
capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and
substitutions without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention as set forth and defined by the following claims. For
example, the capabilities of the system of FIG. 8 can be performed
by one or more of the modules or components described herein or in
a distributed architecture and may include a transmitter, receiver
or pair of both. For example, all or part of the functionality
performed by the individual modules, may be performed by one or
more of these modules. Further, the functionality described herein
may be performed at various times and in relation to various
events, internal or external to the modules or components. Also,
the information sent between various modules can be sent between
the modules via at least one of: a data network, the Internet, a
voice network, an Internet Protocol network, a wireless device, a
wired device and/or via plurality of protocols. Also, the messages
sent or received by any of the modules may be sent or received
directly and/or via one or more of the other modules.
One skilled in the art will appreciate that a "system" could be
embodied as a personal computer, a server, a console, a personal
digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone, a tablet computing device, a
smartphone or any other suitable computing device, or combination
of devices. Presenting the above-described functions as being
performed by a "system" is not intended to limit the scope of the
present invention in any way, but is intended to provide one
example of many embodiments of the present invention. Indeed,
methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may be
implemented in localized and distributed forms consistent with
computing technology.
It should be noted that some of the system features described in
this specification have been presented as modules, in order to more
particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For
example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit
comprising custom very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits or
gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips,
transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be
implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field
programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable
logic devices, graphics processing units, or the like.
A module may also be at least partially implemented in software for
execution by various types of processors. An identified unit of
executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or
logical blocks of computer instructions that may, for instance, be
organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the
executables of an identified module need not be physically located
together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in
different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise
the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module. Further,
modules may be stored on a computer-readable medium, which may be,
for instance, a hard disk drive, flash device, random access memory
(RAM), tape, or any other such medium used to store data.
Indeed, a module of executable code could be a single instruction,
or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several
different code segments, among different programs, and across
several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be
identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be
embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable
type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a
single data set, or may be distributed over different locations
including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least
partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network.
It will be readily understood that the components of the invention,
as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may
be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different
configurations. Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments
is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as claimed, but
is merely representative of selected embodiments of the
invention.
One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that
the invention as discussed above may be practiced with steps in a
different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations
that are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore,
although the invention has been described based upon these
preferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in
the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative
constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit
and scope of the invention. In order to determine the metes and
bounds of the invention, therefore, reference should be made to the
appended claims.
While preferred embodiments of the present application have been
described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described
are illustrative only and the scope of the application is to be
defined solely by the appended claims when considered with a full
range of equivalents and modifications (e.g., protocols, hardware
devices, software platforms etc.) thereto.
* * * * *
References